All Saints West Ham, London/Essex - Monuments
All Saints Parish Church, West Ham, a little south of the busy modern centre of Stratford,
stands within its calm precinct surrounded by trees. While today firmly within East London,
historically, this was part of Essex, which along with parts of other counties was officially
finally swallowed by the metropolis in the 1960s (see this page). The battlemented tower, of three stages with a
taller turret at one corner, dates from 1400. The bulk of the Church is long, low, with outer brick
additions of various dates. The original nave is of similar date to the tower, with some earlier work,
and the aisles and chapels are mostly 16th Century. Inside, the main features are the arcades
of the nave, with their early pillars and broad arches between, and the curved ceiling with
black-painted beams; the clerestory is late 12th Century Norman.
The monuments are numerous about 40 in all, and significant, including four kneeler monuments
from the 17th Century, and the Foot and Cooper monuments each with a pair of full sized statues,
cartouches and panels with fine carving and more kneeling figures from the 18th Century,
and a fair crop of the usual white-on-black panels from the 19th Century, as well as a couple of
Gothic revival panels. The early 18th Century monument to the Buckeridge Family is by the eminent
sculptor Edward Stanton, and the Cooper statues have been attributed to Henry Cheere.
From the 19th Century there are several simple panels by the monumental mason M.W. Johnson,
and one of the Gothic ones is by the sculptor Henry Hopper. We take them in date order.
West Ham Parish Church of All Saints.
Monuments - 15th - 17th Centuries
15th Century tomb chest.
- A tomb chest, on pale stone, used as an altar table. On the sides are carved quatrefoils
and Gothic arches and shields of arms, with mouldings beneath; on top is a great dark slab with indents
for brasses: a man and two wives. Late 15th Century according to the Royal Commission on Historic
Monuments, and the arms include those of Canterbury and the Goldsmiths. It might be the altar tomb of
Robert Rook, d.1485, referred to in a 19th Century note of the Church.
- Nicolas [Nicholas] Avenant, d.1599, stone slab without any surviving border or decoration,
with the writing in a difficult to read blackletter-style script favoured in medieval times and
revived by the late Victorians in modern brasses to the confusion, obfuscation and ultimate despair
of the lay reader.
- John Faldo, d.1613. A small alabaster panel, showing his kneeling, praying figure,
wearing cape and ruff. As is usual for such monuments (see this page), he is under a rounded arch, kneels
on a tasselled cushion to spare his knees, and has in front of him a faldstool or prayer desk with a book
upon it. The spandrels (triangular shapes) above the arch show a shield of arms and crossed arrows
with a crown around them, and above is a roundel, presumably once with painted arms,
and minor carved strapwork. Behind is a second panel, to Francis Faldo, d.1632,
his brother apparently, though I could not make this out from the text. The general format of the panel
is the same, but the inscription is on a black panel rather than carved in alabaster,
and he has a longer cloak, and appears younger, than John Faldo - see picture at top of page.
- Captain Robert Rookes, d.1630. Small alabaster kneeler monument,
lacking the principal central figure. We see the empty arch, side pilasters,
and in the lower portion of the arch, a line of small kneeling figures the weepers , who are Rookes
children. There are seven in all, one of whom is a blanketed infant, the others kneeling in a row,
with prayer desk at the front. Unusually, the figures are not in strict order of size, with the
fourth kneeler shorter than the last two. They are rather battered but the heads indicate that the four
in front are sons, and the three behind daughters, which would explain the central short one.
As well, the prayer desk is double sided, suggesting that there were other kneelers on the other side
and the panel has been reset perhaps there were offspring of the other wife (if so,
it was a long time ago as an account of 1814 mentions just the seven children).
To the sides, square pilasters bear low relief carving, an the inscription is below a shelf at the base.
On top of the arch is a shield of arms with knight s helm and mantling within a circle with
minor strapwork, a common ornamentation at this period. The monument seems to have been damaged
in recent times; the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments volume for this part of Essex,
published in 1921, notes it as having mutilated kneeling figures of man in plate armour and two wives ,
which is repeated in the Victoria County History volume of 1973.
William and Elizabeth Fawcitt monument: 17thC kneelers and reclining figure.
- William Fawcit, d.1631, and his wife Elizabeth Fawcit, d.1636.
The date is given as 1613 in the Victoria County History of Essex, and copied by others,
but 1631 is what it says on the monument. Beneath the usual pair of kneelers, husband and wife
facing each other across a prayer desk, is a lower panel with a carved figure of a reclining man
facing towards us, one hand on a skull. The monument was erected by William Toppesfield,
Elizabeth Fawcit s second husband, and it would seem that it is he and her above as the kneelers,
and the large figure below is the first husband. This sort of memorial including an earlier spouse,
put up by a later one, is not uncommon in kneeler monuments. At the time the monument was erected,
it is likely that Elizabeth Fawcit was still alive, as she has no skull to indicate that she has deceased,
unlike the reclining figure of William Fawcit, if we can take it as him. This figure is the
most interesting, carved as a stiffly lying Shakespeare-like figure, one hand on the forehead
of the skull, which typically lacks its lower jaw, and the other holding a small book,
finger inserted to hold his page. He wears robes, and has a fine ruff. The inscription
is on the left hand panel below; the other is blank, and was likely intended to record
William Toppesfield s particulars, unless it were painted over. Underneath, an apron with carved flowers.
The top of the monument, above the arch, consists of a broken pediment with plump carved cherubs
on the leading edges, and a central shield of arms with knight s helm, mantling etc, within a roundel
with minor strapwork. Very typical of the period, as are the black-shafted columns to the sides.
Sir Thomas Foot Bt, d.1688, and Lady Elizabeth Foot, d.1667.
- Sir Thomas Foot, Knight and Baronet, d.1688, Lord Mayor of London in 1650.
Also his wife Lady Elizabeth Foot, d.1667, and noting the marriages of their four daughters.
Large stone panel. One of a pair of grand monuments with full sized figure sculpture.
The couple are standing, he on the left, she on the right as we look at them.
Their surround is large and Baroque. Had this been more conventional, we could envisage above the arches
an entablature, or band of decorated space across the width of the monument, with a pediment on top,
and a blocky sideboard-like tomb chest underneath. Instead, above each figure,
the centre of each arch is a large keystone, somewhat protruding,
to support a smaller than necessary pediment, without entablature,
greatly dropped in the centre to fit an oversized cartouche, carved with ferny leaves and scrolls,
bearing a painted shield of arms. Above, a tall urn, with gadrooning (corrugation, like a seashell)
around the top and festoons of flowers to each side. An old print shows that once there was a gilt flame
above the urn, and flaming pots carved as shells to the sides. Meanwhile the chest tomb underneath
has much moulding and gadrooning of its own, and a prominent centre with a further black panel.
The carved figures are themselves very fine; Sir Thomas stands with his hands in front of him,
one holding up his richly furred robe, the other, gloved, holding a parchment; above,
he wears his chain of office, a wide ruff, and his cloak is altogether magnificent.
His shoes, square cut and heeled, look quite modern, showing how fashion comes around again.
His face is round, sketchy rather than characterful, its plumpness emphasised by round eyebrows,
little goatee and whiskers, and skullcap above his shoulder length curly hair.
Lady Elizabeth has a rather homely face, emphasised by the bonnet-like affair wrapped around it;
but beneath, she has a narrow-waisted top with full sleeves and large cuffs,
and a skirt widened somewhat with stays. She holds a book and piece of fabric.
Monuments - 18th Century
- Hen [Henry] Colchester, d.1700/01, and his wife Penelope Colchester, d.1719,
with a nice eulogy of how they Pass d thro ye Dutys of Husband & Wife, Father & Mother,
Master & Misstress with the Greatest Satisfaction & Pleasure to themselves, their Children and Servants .
Panel with thin frame, on top of which is a swan-necked (curly) pediment, broken at the top
to admit a cartouche which once would have held a painted coat of arms; bits of paint remain.
It is likely that there was some entablature raising up the pediment at one time, now lost.
At the base, a curly apron with light, scrolly carving, the whole being supported on a central bracket,
perhaps not original.
Architectural weight: monument to Sir James Smyth, Lord Mayor of London, d.1716.
- Sir James Smyth, Knight, d.1706, Lord Mayor of London (in 1684),
second son of Robert Smyth, first Baronet of Upton, West Ham. Also his wife,
Elizabeth (Shurley) Smyth, d.1689, one of the Coheires of Arthur Shurley Esqr,
of an antient Family at Iffeild in Sussex . The long inscription goes on to commemorate two daughters,
Elizabeth and Shurley, undated, and their son, Baronet Sir James Smyth, d.1716,
and his wife Mirabella (Legard) Smyth, d.1714. A very large monument, the inscribed sideboard
like base being surmounted by a smaller block, carved as a casket seen length on against the wall,
with two hefty pots to the sides, and on top of this a tall panel with a cross,
now painted in a tan colour, with attached side pillars and a grand entablature,
and on top a Baroque terminus on low relief, the designer judging no doubt that a full pediment
would look (and perhaps be) too heavy given the height.
The carving is minor: gadrooning on the pots and at the top, a few stylised flowers carved in relief
elsewhere, and this is essentially a piece of architecture relying on size and mass for its impact.
Edward Stanton's sculpture for the Buckeridge monument, early 18th Century.
- Amhurst Buckeridge, d.1709, and his sisters Elizabeth, d.1698,
Eleonora, Annabella and Anne, and two infant brothers, Nicholas and
William, who died of the small pox and other causes; and a lower panel to their father, the
Revd. Nicholas Buckeridge, d.1727; their mother, also Eleonora Buckeridge, died in 1724.
In front of the main inscribed panel are the kneeling statues of the distraught parents,
facing each other, he holding a book, she praying, both dressed in voluminous robes.
They kneel on tasselled cushions, and thus far, the monument reminds us of the kneelers
in the Church from the previous century. But Eleonora is shown with hood back to reveal wavy hair,
youthful head upturned, a pose which never would have been found in an Elizabethan kneeler, and the
Revd. Nicholas Buckeridge wears a full wig. Above them is a shelf with a protruding circular base
of an upper figure resting on a corbel carved as three cherub heads; on top of this is a kneeling girl,
presumably the 16-year old Elizabeth, their first daughter, and to each side of this is a bust of a child,
labelled Anne and Arabella in 1921 the Victoria County History referred to four busts of infants.
Most macabre, behind each of the two surviving busts swoops a death s head, or bat-winged skull
(this site includes a page on skull sculpture featuring lots of these). To the outer sides are scrolls
and carved foliage, and at the top is a shelf, again with a projecting centre. The monument is flat on
top, and I wonder if there might have been some upper terminus at one time, perhaps a shield of arms.
The base of the monument, on which the parents kneel, is a tomb-chest, with upper surface as a
black polished slab, and black too the lower edging. The sculptor of this splendid piece is no less
than Edward Stanton, an important artist, from an important family of stonemasons and sculptors,
who as well as making monuments, was Mason to Westminster Abbey.
- Ester [Esther] L Archevesque, d.1723, first wife of Henry L Archevesque, and
his second wife Martha L'Archevesque, d.1749. Plain white panel.
Cartouches: Laynbrigg Buckeridge, Charles Spearman, and detail.
- Charles Spearman, d.1725, an excellent cartouche panel in white marble. Cartouches,
an alternative to the architectural type of panel based on pillars and pediments,
generally have the inscribed panel shaped like a violin, or oval, with a surround of carved scrolls,
drapery and leaves, often with winged cherub heads. So this one is less usual in shape,
with a broad top and narrow base to the panel, and the surround with an almost rectangular shape.
The top consists of a mini-cartouche with lightly inscribed heraldic arms within it,
and the drapery emerges from behind this, is tied at the sides to form loops or knots,
which is normal, and then hangs down in thin folds to the sides. Slightly inside this are scrolls,
which form an inner border to the inscribed panel, and near the bottom are a fine pair of winged skulls,
which can be compared to those on the Buckeridge monument noted above. At the base is a shield,
truncated at the bottom, which was once presumably painted. An interesting and accomplished piece.
- Henry Hall, d.1730, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, and his son
Stephen Hall, d.1731, and James Hall, an infant. A great black slate with a thin border.
Above on the wall, what looks to be a painted over indent of two figures.
- Laynbrigg Buckeridge, d.1732, his son Thomas Buckeridge, d.1720?, and his wife
Mary Buckeridge, d.1739. A simple but beautiful cartouche monument - see picture above left - with elegant violin-shaped
central panel, four perfect scrolls around it, carved shell at the top, and a cartouche at the base
which would have borne the painted coat of arms. Excellent.
Curious memorial to Lieut-Col. Scott, d.1737.
- Lieutenant Colonel John Scott, d.1737, of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards,
and his children John and Sarah. A curious and interesting panel.
The inscription is in an oval, with knight s helm and motto above, and a vast swathe of mantling
which flows down the sides of the oval. At the base, a lion s head grips in its jaws the upper scroll
of a heraldic shield, now blank. To either side of the lion head rises the two halves of an architectural
trophy, carved with pistols, cutlasses, sextant, helmet, beribboned arrow, and with two flags
to the rear. Beneath, the shield is upon a segment of a circle, and at the base, a carved corbel.
An unusual and noble conception.
- Mrs Ann Mighells, d.1741, wife of the Hon. James Mighells, d.1733,
Vice Admiral of the Blue, and their eldest daughter, Mrs Mary Anne Gascoigne, d.1748,
who also married an admiral. Grand classical panel, with fluted side pilasters
supporting an upper pediment, broken to allow a painted cartouche of arms;
to the outside are scrolls, and to the base, a deep apron and supporting brackets with bell-shaped bases,
and a small central shell.
- William Ravenscroft, d.1718, Citizen and Mercer of London, and his wife
Margaret Ravenscroft, d.1741, and two unnamed children of Frances Ball, their daughter,
who erected the monument. An interesting panel in that while bearing Classical pillars,
it approaches more to an oval overall: on top of the pillars is a thin arch, with two fat-limbed putti
reclining on it, to the lower sides are foliated scrolls, giving a further curvedness, and the base
is a curvy apron bearing two low relief portraits of the couple staring at each other. These portraits
are not exactly flattering, as each is shown with a heavy hooked nose,
and an exaggerated chin reflecting it below it suggests a certain force of character, at least.
There is a worn signature of the sculptor, but I could not read it properly perhaps Marshall?.
James Cooper, d.1743 and his wife, attributed to the sculptor Henry Cheere.
- James Cooper, d.1743, and his wife, the companion piece to the Sir Thomas Foot monument, emplaced next to it today,
and likewise with a pair of standing statues, though they share a single broad niche under an arch.
The composition is as if a conversational group which we, the viewers, are invited to join, he standing
casually, she looking towards him. The surround is Classical baroque, with a pair of winged cherub heads
the keystone position at the centre of the arch, and directly above the base of the blank pediment.
To left and right of the main structure are carved leafy protuberances, scrolls and a pair of large pots;
the whole stands upon a shelf which forms the top of an altar tomb like affair seated against the wall,
and which bears the inscription. Much quoted (well, it seems to have been jolly popular 100 years ago at least),
it is irresistible enough to quote here again, at least in part:
James Cooper... who... Desired that under his EFFIGIE after his Name and Age to be Written this
(or to this Purpose): I Believed // In one God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, // Also the Resurrection
// And whilst I liv d, I Firmly put my trust // In his Divine protection. // But now interrr d,
I m cover d or e [over] with Dust, // Reader prepare, for there unto you must.
Back to the statues. Mr Cooper, being of the mid 18th Century, stands with rather a swagger,
hand cocked on his hip, other hand holding an open book but held in front of him as if orating,
chest out, legs posed rather than naturally placed. His face, a little elderly, somewhat baggy,
with a double chin, is given dignity by the heaviness of the features and the luxuriant locks of his hair
or likely wig. He wears a scarf around his neck, a buttoned waistcoat,
his sleeves have giant cuffs and underneath we see the ruffs or frills of his shirt.
In his time, the male leg was apparently admired as much as the female leg today, and his short coat
and stockings above small shoes give ample opportunity to show the musculature of his calves.
His wife who is not named on the inscription is younger, with a smooth unlined face,
a hood with ribbons at the forehead, lots of frills to scarf and shirt under her outer garment
of heavier cloth, a corsetlike affair over the chest, held together with ties, flaring to long skirts
below with just the tips of her pointed shoes emerging below. Very good sculpture, but who made it?
It has been attributed to Henry Cheere, I am not sure by whom, and is up to his high standard, though the figures are in modern attire which is unusual for him.
Revd. John Finch, d.1748, of All Saints West Ham, and St Peter Le Poer in the City.
- The Revd. John Finch, d.1748, who as well as being at All Saints West Ham,
was Lecturer at St Peter le Poer [St Peter le Poore], Broad Street. A most interesting monument, carved as a three-sided,
tall plinth bearing a pot. Each side is concave both vertically and horizontally, with the
inscription continuing on the second side, a corrugated or gadrooned lip above, then mouldings
to the pot, which bears upon it three carved winged cherub heads instead of handles, and has a lid
with a spike emerging from it, perhaps once supporting a flame. At the base, forward facing,
is a cartouche, doubtless once painted. All is bold curves, and the general structure seems more suitable
to a font, were such things three-sided, or some monument out of doors. Perhaps it once was.
- Sarah Starkey, d.1760, wife of James Starkey, Callico Printer of this Parish .
Panel with curvaceous top unsurprisingly plain, as he had become bankrupt in 1758.
Teague of Leytonstone: local stonemason's work to the two Revds. Jonathan Reeves and family.
- The Revd. Jonathan Reeves, d.1787, late Lecturer of this Parish during the Space
of 17 Years , and his wife Elizabeth Reeves, d.1790. White panel with crumbling upper shelf,
on a black backing with curved top and two supports in pale marble.
Signed by a local stonemason, T[eague] of Leytonstone. Beneath this panel is the later but identical one
to three of their eight offspring, starting with the Revd. Jonathan Reeves, d.1793,
and ending with his wife, Magdalen Elizabeth Reeves, d.1835. The stonemason
Teague of Leytonstone signs clearly here. He has a more ambitious carved panel in South Woodford Church.
- Offspring of George and Mary Dick of Bombay, starting with Catherine Dick, d.1791,
and ending with Captain Charles Dick, d.1807 who died on board the Anna Transport
voyaging from Buenos Ayres to England, and the undated George Dick Junior.
With upper shelf bearing a shield of arms, and a lower cut out piece beneath a thinner shelf,
and on a black shaped backing.
Obelisk monument to Mary Bantock, d.1792.
- Mary Bantock, d.1792, and her husband Hugh Bantock, d.1812,
carpenter of this Parish . A dark obelisk monument high on the wall. The inscribed panel is in
older-style black marble, with a pale stone surround with embedded marble fingers like a rail track,
and low relief circles and ovals, and to the sides, outer scrolly attachments serving as pilasters.
At the base, a thin shelf and pendant beige marble apron, now blank, but which may once have had some
painted arms or attached sculptural decoration. There is a thin upper shelf, above which is the base
of the obelisk, a tall, broad black slab on marble, on which is an inscription to their son,
Hugh Bantock, d.1804.
- John Cooke, d.1796, and his wife Elizabeth Cooke, d.1797. Panel with upper moulded shelf,
thin lower shelf, and beneath that, an apron cut to a curved shape with sidepieces, also curved.
Monuments - 19th and early 20th Centuries
- Sarah Grimstead, d.1804, to the same design as the Cooke panel noted above.
- Revd. George Gregory, d.1808, Vicar of the Parish, and his wife,
Elizabeth Gregory, d.1826. Two separate panels. His is styled as a casket end,
with small rounded feet, outward slanting sides, a top shelf and straight on that, a lid in the shape
of a pediment with large acroteria ( ears ) and a central carved wreath.
Her panel is directly under the feet of his, modest and rectangular, but the two make a well-proportioned
whole.
Sir Hervey Smyth, Bt, d.1811.
- Sir Hervey Smyth, Baronet, d.1811, who was trained to the military profession
under Prince Ferdinand... and selected by General Wolfe as one of his chief companions in arms,
at the battle of Quebec received a severe wound which impaired his health, and abridged his usefulness...
The inscribed panel, with upper and lower shelves but nothing to the sides,
is surmounted by a shallow obelisk, with concave sides really a generation late for such a design
with a funereal urn in front of it with trailing festoons of flowers to each side.
The base is almost a reflection of the top, concave sided and deep, and in the same grey marble,
but truncated uneasily at the base; upon it is painted a shield of arms, and to the sides,
the supporting corbels to the shelf above are carved as simple flowers.
- Joseph Cleypole, d.1826, his wife Sarah Cleypole, d.1837,
and six offspring through to 1877. Tall panel with a blocky top cut to pediment shape,
decorated with a small shield of arms and acroteria carved with anemones.
Blocky base and block supports.
- Honor Peacock, d.1831, and husband John Pickering Peacock, d.1845.
Gothic panel, with angular side pilasters with pinnacles, the outer arch carved with little garlands
of flowers rather than crocketing, rising to a central cross.
There is also a relief carving of the shield of arms above the inscription.
On a shaped black backing panel.
Henry Hopper's Gothic panel to Judith Smith.
- Judith Smith, d.1832, with a eulogy, erected by her nephews and nieces.
A Gothic panel, with broad Tudorish arch, skinny attached pillars to the side with pinnacles,
and crocketing on them and on the upper parts of the monument.
At the base are two small floral ornaments, simply carved, and on one side is the signature
of the decorative and funerary sculptor, H. Hopper, London (see this page).
- Samuel Billingay, d.1823, and Ann Billingay, d.1837,
of Plaistow, erected by their son. Crisp white panel, with side pilasters bearing on one side
an upturned torch, symbol of life extinguished; the one on the other side is lost; at the top,
a pediment with the word Sacred; within it, and round-headed acroteria to the sides with
anemone patterns in low relief. Scrolly brackets and the base, and on a shaped black backing.
Made by the prolific Westminster Marble Company, Earl Street.
- Samuel Jones Vachell, d.1831, and his wife Sarah Vachell, d.1840,
tomb chest end with rounded feet bearing low relief carving, upper shelf and the usual
asymmetrically draped pot on top. On a shaped black backing. See also the
Mary Ann (Vachell) Jenyns panel noted below.
- Samuel Argill, d.1835, vestry Clerk of the Parish, the panel with a curved base,
an upper shelf, and a relief carving of a broad-bodied pot covered asymmetrically with a drape,
and on a shaped black backing. There is a single small bracket at the base, which is signed
indistinctly by the stone mason.
- Sarah Maria Jones, d.1835, who died of consumption. As a tomb chest end,
with the feet being stylised flowers with the stamens showing, and on the upper shelf or lip,
a scrolly pediment lid with stylised flowers carved in relief. Nicely scaled.
On a black rectangular panel, and signed by M.W. Johnson, New Road, London,
the earliest of several panels by this sculptor and stone mason in the Church.
- Mary Ann (Vachell) Jenyns, d.1837, plain panel with upper shelf and lid,
on a black backing.
- John Carstairs, d.1837, his wife Cecil [presumably Cecily] Carstairs,
and a daughter, Margaret Cheape, d.1830, erected by four surviving daughters.
A large panel with upper shelf and blocky lower one on block supports, with a shaped black backing.
At the top and in front is an overlarge painted, carved shield of arms with much mantling.
Again by M.W. Johnson of New Road, London.
M.W. Johnson's work: Gothic and Classical panels.
- John Shepherd, d.1841, and his wife Hannah, d.1850.
As a tomb chest end, with upper shelf on which is a scrolly lid or pediment,
carved with stylised flowers and leaves, as per the Sarah Maria Jones panel.
The feet are also carved, with simple leaf patterns - see picture above left. The whole is on a rectangular black backing,
signed again by M.W. Johnson of New Road, London.
- Sir John Henry Pelly, Baronet, d.1852, Governor of the Hudson Bay Company,
also Governor of the Bank of England, and for 30 years, Deputy Master of the Corporation of Trinity House,
with a eulogy. Large white-on black panel, with low relief carving of his coat of arms at the top,
under an arched top, blocky base at the bottom with two moulded brackets, on a black backing panel
carved with ears . Our fourth panel by M.W. Johnson of New Road.
- John Bantock, d.1853?, and wife Elizabeth Bantock, d.1848.
Standard white on black monument, with the inscribed panel as the end of a tomb chest, with little feet,
a shelf on top, and an asymmetrically draped pot on top of that, carved in relief.
On a shaped black backing and signed indistinctly by the mason.
- David Morgan, d.1857, his wife Maria [Morris], d.1857,
emplaced by their surviving sons. Another Gothic tablet - picture above right - this time with a cinquefoil arch,
the spandrels (triangles to the sides) with repeating relief flowers, side pilasters, a shelf above,
and at the base, a further shelf and a small central shield, and to the sides, well-carved corbels
of grapevine to the left, oak to the right. The last work in the Church by
M.W. Johnson, New Road, Fitzroy Square.
- Thomas Curtis, d.1862, and wife Mary Curtis, d.1884.
Tall panel with thick-cut upper pediment and lower base, resting on two supports
with fluted scrolled carving. On a shaped black backing panel, with a faded signature I could not read.
- The Venerable Hugh Chambres Jones, d.1869, Vicar of Westham from 1809-1845,
later Archdeacon of Essex and Treasure of St Paul s Cathedral.
Also his wife, Helen (Carstairs) Jones, d.1864 she was the daughter of John and Cecil Carstairs,
whose monument is noted above. A splendid revival panel in pinky brown alabaster,
with side pilasters with dark inlay, upper and lower shelf, shield of arms in a lozenge above,
and much minor encrusted carved decoration. Feeling rather later than 1869.
Alabaster panel to the Ven. Hugh Chambres Jones, d.1869.
- Charles Ernest Watney, d.1895, curate of the Church who went to preach
for the Church Missionary Society in the Niger, where he died at Lokoja. Plain panel with curved upper
on a rectangular black backing.
- The Revd. Edgar Ernest Hamshere, d.1905, another Church Missionary Society man,
who fulfilled his calling in South India and died at Bezwada. Streaky marble panel with gently
arched top, and a thin border from the black backing panel.
- Michael Adamson, d.1912, Mayor of West Ham 1898-99 and active in the Church.
White panel with pointed arch at the top enclosing a black lined cross, with line border all round,
and on a similarly-shaped black backing panel.
Brasses
I did not see the one ancient brass in the Church, to Thomas Staples, d.1592, showing him with his
four wives. There are several revival brass panels from the 19th/early 20th Centuries,
typical of this type of monument:
- Revd. Abel John Bain, d.1883, with an inscribed line border with simple repeating vine
design and flowers at the corners in red. On a black backing panel.
- Arthur Benjamin (?), d.1905, with the chief capitals in red, and a double inscribed
border with dotted patterning, again on a black backing panel.
- Frederick Edward Hilleary, d.1921, his wife Alice Hilleary, d.1923,
and son George Edward Hilleary, d.1936. In similar style, really rather late for this genre,
even if, as likely, it was made after the death of Alice Hilleary.
Also in the Church
The West Ham font collection: Norman, 18thC, Victorian.
The Church contains a variety of interesting accoutrements and furnishings, and in parts is
pleasingly cluttered.
Outside the Church
The churchyard around All Saints has been largely cleared, but at the front the monuments
have been left in some profusion. Not much of sculptural interest, but there is one tall spike
on a heavy base to John Henniker, d.1745, merchant of Stratford House, and his wife Hannah, d.1745,
erected by their eldest son, John, 1st Lord Henniker, who has one of the most notable monuments in
Rochester Cathedral.
There is a covered way up to the Church entrance from the edge of the plot;
apparently this is remnant from the days when the better off West Ham parishioners
were in the habit of arriving by carriage, and could in this way avoid being exposed
to the elements.
Hennicker monument and covered way.
With many thanks to the Church authorities for kind permission to use pictures from inside All Saints Church;
see the Church website at http://www.westhamchurch.org.uk/history1.html.
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Essex-in-London church monuments
Nearby Former Passmore Edwards Museum // Romford Road sculpture // Leyton Parish Church (1 1/2 miles north) // or further north to Walthamstow Church
Barking Church and Dagenham Church (eastwards) // Monuments in some other London churches
Introduction to church monuments // Angel statues // Cherub sculpture
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Visits to this page from 29 Jan. 2017: 6,868
Architectural weight: monument to Sir James Smyth, Lord Mayor of London, d.1716.
Revd. John Finch, d.1748, of All Saints West Ham, and St Peter Le Poer in the City.
Curious memorial to Lieut-Col. Scott, d.1737. 
Obelisk monument to Mary Bantock, d.1792. 
Sir Hervey Smyth, Bt, d.1811. 
Henry Hopper's Gothic panel to Judith Smith. 
Alabaster panel to the Ven. Hugh Chambres Jones, d.1869. 
